Goal 12

Gerald Ford 1974-Gerald Ford 1974-19771977 Republican

Ford is the un-elected presidentIs Nixon’s Vice President after

Agnew’s resignationAssumes presidency after

Nixon’s resignation Pardons Nixon Signed Helsinki Accords with

Canada & most European nationsStated all nations would maintain

current European borders (essentially victory for USSR)

Urged Congress to cut billions from national budget & increase taxes on corporationsCalled his initiative W.I.N. (“Whip Inflation

Now”)

Bilingual Education Act of 1974: provided for immigrant students to be taught in native language while learning English

Loses re-election campaign in 1976

Jimmy Carter 1977-Jimmy Carter 1977-19811981 Democrat Was a Washington “outsider” –

elected b/c not connected to Watergate or anyone involved

1977: Gave the Panama Canal back to Panama (effective in 2000), strengthening our relationship with Latin America

September 1978: hosted Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat & Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin at the presidential retreat Camp DavidNegotiated a peace treaty between Egypt & Israel, the

Camp David Accords

March 1979: nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island failedAs a result, Americans fear nuclear power even more;

favor oil, despite its expense

Iran Hostage Crisis: angry supporters of Ayatollah Khomeini stormed the U.S. embassy in TehranTook 70 Americans hostage in Nov. 1979Carter failed to end standoff; it will end on

Reagan’s inauguration

1979: the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised oil prices 50%U.S. was heavily dependent on foreign oil, so having

to cut back = energy crisisDepartment of Energy created in 1977 to address

energy conservation & research & develop new energy sources

Granted amnesty (forgiveness) to all draft dodgers of the Vietnam War

Ronald Reagan 1981-Ronald Reagan 1981-19891989 Republican Ends Iran Hostage Crisis Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars):

missile defense system designed to force the USSR to admit defeat in the Cold War

Policy of spending billions on defensemade national & foreign debts soar

Political Cartoon:

Strategic Defense Initiative a.k.a. Star Wars

Mikhail Gorbachev (new USSR premier) begins in 1985:Glasnost: opennessPerestroika: restructuring of the economy & societyMet w/ Reagan to sign the Intermediate-Range

Nuclear Forces Treaty: eliminated many medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe & USSR

Dec 1988: Gorbachev announced Eastern Europe could no longer count on the USSR – Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania quickly fall

Berlin Wall falls in 1989; Soviet Union will officially break up in 1991

Involved in Iran-Contra Affair, where Reagan’s administration raised money for the Contras fighting Nicaragua’s gov’t by selling weapons to Iran through Israel

Nominated Sandra Day O’Connor the first woman on the Supreme Court

Supported trickle-down (supply-side) economicsa.k.a. ReaganomicsEmphasized tax cuts & deregulation of big business

to stimulate savings & investment○ Profits went up, but salaries did not○ Modest success: inflation down & stock trading up○ But did not improve lives of poor & working class

George H.W. Bush 1989-George H.W. Bush 1989-19931993 1989: Chinese troops opened fire

on students demonstrating against the communist gov’t at Tiananmen Square

U.S. led U.N. forces against Iraq’s invasion of KuwaitKnown as Persian Gulf War (a.k.a. Desert Storm)

Signed the Americans with Disabilities ActCovers range of disabilities including AIDS, mental,

& physical difficultiesRequires equal access to public transportation &

facilities & outlaws job discrimination against disabled people

William Clinton 1993-William Clinton 1993-20012001 Democrat 1993: signed the North American Free Trade

Agreement (NAFTA)Promotes trade between the U.S., Canada &

Mexico by eliminating tariffs & other barriers

Clinton & his supporters called New Democrats: embraced traditionally Republican fiscal responsibility w/ traditionally

Democratic concerns for education & social programs

Family & Medical Leave Act: required large companies to give employees 12 weeks of annual unpaid leave

Cut federal spending & increased taxes, reducing deficit by ½ by first term; had become a surplus by end of 2nd term

Passed legislation to protect the environment

Overhauled the welfare system

Unsuccessfully tried to bring universal healthcare coverage

George W. Bush 2001-George W. Bush 2001-20092009 Republican Won the 2000 election when the

Supreme Court ruled 5-4 (conservative-moderate) to stop the recount taking place in Florida & declared Bush the winner in Bush v. GorePeople across the nation begin calling for voting

reforms No Child Left Behind: Expands

standardized testing, designed to prevent unqualified children from passing to the next grade

September 11, 2001:Islamic fundamentalists hijacked 4 jet liners○ 2 planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City○ 1 plane hit the Pentagon in Washington D.C.○ Passengers of the 4th plane crashed it into the

Pennsylvania countryside before it could make it back to D.C.

○ Plan organized & executed by al Qaeda, an international terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden

In response: ○ Bush creates Department of Homeland Security to

coordinate domestic national-security efforts○ Invades Afghanistan, ruled by the fundamentalist

Muslim group the Taliban, who was protecting bin Laden 2003: preemptive strike against Iraq,

claiming the U.S. was going after nuclear weaponsBut no nuclear weapons ever found

Barack Obama Barack Obama 2009-2009- Democrat First African American President Concerns of his presidency:

Global warming & the environmentGreen technology